Review of The Weakness from The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette online
January 7, 2010


by Adrian Mccoy

Pittsburgh, Transylvania

Pittsburgh has been a zombie hot spot on the big screen ever since George Romero unleashed the “Night of the Living Dead.”

Another group of enterprising Web video makers is trying to give Pittsburgh vampires equal time. “The Weakness” is a “neo-noir web serial,” as its creators describe it, about vampires.

Creator/writer/director and lead vampire Lauren Zito comes from a background in fine arts, but became interested in Web video after some experiments with YouTube. The idea of making a Web video series and the dark vampire saga began to unfold.

Her husband James Zito is director of cinematography. Writer/director Ron Siler also plays the role of a priest-turned vampire. Rounding out the cast is a group of local actors and crew members.

“Twilight” it’s not. The main characters are a 400-plus year-old vampire named Zahn, the evil 800-vampire who turned him into a vampire and a mystery woman named Justine.

Lauren Zito plays all three. “It's a complete blast,” she says of her multiple “Weakness” personalities.  “I go about it very intuitively...how this person would feel at the moment. They're all based on aspects of my life. I try to react and be completely in the moment.”

The first 13-episode seasonis drawing to an end, and season two will start filming in February.

The series is available on several platforms, including Blip.tv, iTunes, YouTube and on the Francis Rocks! Productions site.

Starting January 7, 2010, “The Weakness” gets a new outlet. It will air on public access cable channel PCTV, Channel 21 Thursdays at midnight, with each episode running for one month. It’s airing in the vampire-friendly midnight hour on cable because of adult content, including language and violence. “It’s no worse than anything you'd see on HBO or Showtime. The violence is all fake,” Ms. Zito says.

The series has evolved technically since it launched in 2007, with longer and more ambitious episodes that are around 20 to 25 minutes long.
The video is dark and shadowy black and white, with the exception of flashback and dream sequences, which add a splash of color.

The series is filmed in and around Pittsburgh, including the Duquesne University campus, where Zito teaches part time.Like so many other film and TV producers, the Francis Rocks production crew finds Pittsburgh to be an versatile and ideal backdrop for a gothic horror series. “It has this gritty look,” Ms. Zito says. “There are old areas and stuff that's really run down.”

For all its nightmarish qualities, “Weakness” also has a sense of humor. There’s a vampire tooth extraction scene – no anesthesia, of course, accompanying by the oddly comforting line of dialogue: “They’ll grow back.” And the characters make an offhand reference to Pittsburgh’s zombie town status. Q: “Are we going to see any zombies?” A: “This is Pittsburgh. The odds are very high.”